Farmers face “considerable turbulence” if Britain leaves the European Union without a deal in place, Michael Gove told the 2019 Oxford Farming Conference, with “significant challenges” for smaller farming businesses such as those in the Westcountry.

Speaking to hundreds of delegates at the leading agri-business event, which took place from January 2-4 in Oxford and sets the agenda for the coming year, the Environment Secretary stressed that smaller farmers, particularly those in the livestock sector, would be hardest hit if a deal is not agreed.

“Of course we can, and are, doing everything to mitigate those costs and are developing plans to help support the industry in a variety of contingencies,” he explained.

In the event of a no-deal Brexit, Michael Gove warned tariffs, border checks and labour pressures would all add to costs for food producers

“But nobody can be blithe or blasé about the real impact on food production of leaving without a deal.”

While “not perfect”, he said Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal would provide a 21-month transition period in which current access is “completely unaffected”, as well as maintaining continuous tariff-free and quota-free access to EU markets for exporters.

Mr Gove, who was returning to the University’s Examination Halls after addressing last year’s conference, continued: “If Parliament doesn’t back the Prime Minister’s deal all those gains will be put at risk.

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“If we do secure support for the deal, however, then we can forge ahead with further reforms which can put Britain in a world-leading position, not just in food production but also in the wise stewardship of our natural assets.”

A leading figure in the 2016 Leave campaign, Mr Gove said he “believes strongly” that the UK’s departure from the EU will allow the country to “rejuvenate our democracy, make power more accountable, escape from the bureaucratic straitjacket of the Common Agricultural Policy [CAP] and develop a more vibrant farming sector”.

But these “real gains” risk being undermined if a deal isn’t struck ahead of the scheduled March 29 withdrawal date, with MPs due to vote in the Commons later this month on the Prime Minister’s Brexit proposal.

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Mr Gove also used his speech to declare that Britain is on the verge of a fourth agricultural revolution in how food is produced, with rapidly accelerating advances in technology such as artificial intelligence, data analysis, robotics and gene-editing paving the way for more efficient and sustainable production.

He said: “The fourth agricultural revolution will require us to change the way we work on the land and invest in its future, will force us to reform the role of Government in regulating and supporting farming; will demand new thinking and new talent in food production, and will, inevitably, require tough choices to be made.

“For some, the adjustment will be challenging. But no change is not an option. Reform is vital to modernise the sector and capitalise on technological advances.”

A polytunnel full of strawberry plants in Cornwall. Michael Gove also used his Oxford speech to put forward that Britain is on the verge of a fourth agricultural revolution in how food is produced (Image: Tom Last)

He continued: “If, however, we embrace the potential of this fourth revolution we can guarantee the future of the United Kingdom as a major global food producer; we can play our part in alleviating poverty and scarcity; we can replenish our store of natural capital, secure investment for the innovations in tackling waste, pollution and emissions which the world will increasingly need – and hand on both a healthier economy and an enriched environment to the next generation.”

Mr Gove also pledged that there is a “world of opportunity” for British agriculture if farmers are prepared to embrace the opportunities that the Government’s policy reforms and the wider technological revolution can bring.

“I believe this country, just as it led the Great Agricultural Revolution of the eighteenth century can be the vanguard nation for this century’s New Agricultural Revolution,” he concluded.